Stepparent Adoption Information

By
Meyers Law Group, P.C.
|April 08, 2013

In our world today, divorce is all around us. And because of that, the
"blended" American family is becoming much more prevalent in
our society. In many cases after a divorce, the people will eventually
fall in love again and find new people to spend the rest of their life
with, and many of these spouses are likely to have children already in
the picture after a divorce and into the second marriage. A blended family
means that one parent (or both) has children that they bring into their
union, and in many cases this is beneficial for the children to have two
parent figures in their home as they are growing up. While many
divorces are done so amicably, allowing the children to have a strong relationship
with both parents despite their marriage coming to an end, there are also
family situations where this is not the case.

Perhaps you are a mother who just married your second husband, and you
have two children already. For one reason or another, the father of the
children is no longer in the picture, and after years of your new family
you see the bond that your husband has with your children and you two
discuss the options of wanting to have him officially adopt them as his
own. As a stepparent, this process is often deemed easier than if you
were seeking to adopt a child from outside the family, however the process
can still be complicating. By contacting an experienced long Island family
attorney at the The Meyers Law Group, P.C., you will be in good hands
during this time.

In order to go through the process of stepparent adoption, there are a
few qualifications that must be taken into consideration before the process
can be officially done. First off, in order for the stepparent to legally
adopt, there must be consent given by the birth parent. Unfortunately,
if the other parent refuses to do so, and you are unable to prove that
they are unfit as a parent in the life of the child, there is little else
that can be done. If this is the case, you will have to prove that the
biological parent is somehow incapable of caring for the child and that
they are unfit to parent, they have failed to support the child, there
was abandonment or otherwise labeled unfit.

What makes this so hard, particularly for the biological parent, is that
by giving consent to have their child adopted by the stepparent, it means
that they are forgoing all rights they have as a parent. This means that
they will no longer have the right to visitation, or any decisions regarding
the care and raising of the children. While this may be hard to grasp
for some birth parents, many times they often understand that by allowing
this to happen it is in the best interest of the children and therefore
they will choose to sign over the consent. This is often the case if a
parent realizes that they will not be able to offer the care or support
the child needs, or that they want to be relieved of the pressure of having
any type of parental responsibility.

If there is hesitation on behalf of the father, you may be able to prove
that (for example) the father does not, by legal definition, meet the
qualifications of a presumed father and therefore that can be your argument
when seeking to have your new husband adopts your children. As stated,
this process may be complicating, so contact our firm today for the legal
representation you will need during this time!

The information on this website is for general information purposes only.
Nothing on this site should be taken as legal advice for any individual
case or situation. This information is not intended to create, and receipt
or viewing does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.